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THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST ANNE<br />
<strong>DIGEST</strong><br />
may / june 2016<br />
Easter in<br />
St<br />
Anne’s<br />
Pages 6-7<br />
The Dean of Belfast the Very Rev John Mann, and Father Michael Sheehan, Administrator of St Patrick’s Church<br />
in Donegall Street, led a Service of Commemoration for the 75th anniversary of the Belfast Blitz. Two<br />
Merryweather Fire Engines which attended from Drogheda and Dundalk on the night of the Blitz returned to<br />
Belfast for the service on Sunday April 17. Full story on pages 10 & 11.<br />
Cathedral Digest 3
Letter from<br />
the Dean<br />
By the Very Rev John Mann, Dean of Belfast<br />
The coming two months bring a succession<br />
of special occasions to St Anne’s<br />
concluding with services to<br />
commemorate the Battle of the Somme.<br />
Many of these are looking back events,<br />
as we remember the changing times,<br />
particularly of the twentieth century. The<br />
recent 75th anniversary of the Belfast<br />
Blitz, which began on the night of April<br />
15, called to my mind once again the<br />
sinking of the Titanic which occurred on<br />
the same night 29 years earlier.<br />
We have services recalling personal loss<br />
as well as those noting national occasions<br />
of commemoration. So St Anne’s<br />
adapts to the needs of the city it serves,<br />
to the dioceses and wider community,<br />
and most importantly to the reconciling<br />
work of Christ.<br />
Why do we do these things? Why do we<br />
continue to seek the healing of the nations?<br />
Why do we try to reconcile what<br />
divides us, either historically or now?<br />
The answer is the same, however we<br />
Dean John Mann<br />
phrase the question. God in Christ was<br />
reconciling the world to himself. As we<br />
fashion ourselves as a cathedral whose<br />
foundation is to seek to prayerfully<br />
imitate Christ Jesus, we have no option<br />
but to place reconciliation at the heart of<br />
all we do. St Anne’s has worked as a<br />
healing agency for a long time, and yes,<br />
we have had our own moments of<br />
division and times when internally we<br />
are challenged by our own preaching,<br />
but that is to be expected.<br />
The New Testament, in fact the whole<br />
Bible, bears witness to the spiritual<br />
warfare that attacks both individuals and<br />
communities of faith. That is the reason<br />
why reconciliation must lie at the heart<br />
of imperfect people who seek the face of<br />
God. That’s us, and always will be.<br />
Open Door Lunch for the homeless<br />
Connor Diocese is now offering a free<br />
lunch for people living and sleeping on<br />
the streets of Belfast in St Anne’s<br />
Cathedral Halls every Tuesday.<br />
Open Door Lunch is an initiative by the<br />
diocese’s Church Army Evangelists and<br />
has the support of local businesses.<br />
Karen Webb, Lead Pioneer Evangelist<br />
with Connor’s North Belfast Centre<br />
of Mission, said: “Homelessness is a<br />
growing issue in the UK and particularly<br />
in Belfast, and we felt we had a call to,<br />
in some small measure, reach out and<br />
engage with the homeless community<br />
around us.”<br />
2<br />
Cathedral Digest
Music<br />
The Shoreline Chorus from Canada in concert in St Anne’s on April 5 along with the Queen’s Island Victoria Male<br />
Choir from Belfast. The Cathedral has hosted a number of visiting choirs in recent months.<br />
The Rev Mark Niblock is<br />
appointed Dean’s Vicar<br />
The Rev Mark Niblock, Priest-in-Charge<br />
of Rathcoole Parish, will take up the post<br />
of Dean’s Vicar early this month,<br />
succeeding Canon Denise Acheson.<br />
Mark, 38, is married to Cherry and father<br />
to Jason aged six and Rowan aged two.<br />
A native of Bangor, he is a former<br />
student of Bangor Grammar School. He<br />
read Theology at Fitzwilliam College,<br />
Cambridge, and after graduation worked<br />
for James Brown and Sons Funeral<br />
Directors from 1999 to 2006.<br />
Before he was ordained, Mark studied<br />
for a Master’s degree in Christian<br />
Spirituality at Milltown Institute, Dublin.<br />
Mark was curate assistant in Agherton<br />
Parish, Portstewart, from his ordination<br />
in June 2008 until his move to St<br />
Comgall’s, Rathcoole, in May 2012.<br />
Looking forward to his new role in Belfast<br />
Cathedral, Mark said: “I am excited<br />
about a new area of ministry that I have<br />
not had prior experience of and am<br />
looking forward to the team aspect of<br />
working in St Anne’s. I think the change<br />
will be both stretching and rewarding.<br />
New Dean’s Vicar, the Rev Mark Niblock.<br />
“I have missed choral input over these<br />
last few years and look forward to<br />
reconnecting with that.”<br />
The Dean of Belfast, the Very Rev John<br />
Mann, said: “I have known Mark since<br />
his ordination and am certain he and<br />
his wife and their young family will be<br />
received by staff, parishioners and<br />
volunteers in St Anne’s with open arms<br />
and much joy.<br />
“St Comgall’s will miss him, as we of<br />
course miss Canon Denise. As they<br />
make their transition, so Mark will need<br />
time to make his. But I am excited about<br />
another new chapter opening for the<br />
Cathedral.”<br />
Cathedral Digest 3
Candles for Brussels<br />
In the wake of the terrorist attacks on Brussels, a single<br />
candle burned for several days in the Cathedral’s<br />
Chapel of the Holy Spirit, with prayers said for all<br />
victims of violence.<br />
People were invited to light candles around the central<br />
flame and there was space for prayer and reflection.<br />
The Dean of Belfast, the Very Rev John Mann, said the<br />
space for reflection and prayer was being established in<br />
the Chapel of the Holy Spirit in view of ‘the atrocities that<br />
continue to be perpetrated by terrorists in our world today,<br />
and particularly the Brussels attacks.’<br />
Visitors could light candles<br />
around the central flame and<br />
prayers were said to remember<br />
all victims of violence.<br />
“During Holy Week our minds<br />
and hearts search, as far as we<br />
are able, the mind and heart of<br />
Christ, who gave himself for us<br />
and seeks ever to intercede<br />
for us. May God in his<br />
mercy bring peace to the hearts<br />
of the desolate and light eternal<br />
shine on those who have died<br />
and are held in the<br />
unfathomable love of Jesus,”<br />
said Dean Mann.<br />
4<br />
Cathedral Digest
The Connor MU Festival Service. All Ireland President Phyllis Grothier is in the foreground, right.<br />
Connor MU Festival Service<br />
This year’s Diocese of Connor MU<br />
Festival Service on Sunday April 10 was<br />
a celebration of the 140th anniversary of<br />
Mothers’ Union and the 90th birthday of<br />
MU Patron Her Majesty the Queen.<br />
The speaker at the service, held in St<br />
Anne’s Cathedral, was Phyllis Grothier,<br />
MU All Ireland President.<br />
Banners were paraded before the<br />
service, when Jordanstown branch<br />
unveiled its new banner.<br />
Connor Diocesan President Valerie Ash, left; the Dean<br />
of Belfast, the Very Rev John Mann; and Phyllis Grothier,<br />
MU All Ireland President, at the Festival Service.<br />
New position for former deacon intern<br />
The Rev Andrew Campbell, a former<br />
deacon intern in St Anne’s, will be<br />
instituted as rector of the Parish of<br />
Skerry, Rathcavan and Newtowncrommelin<br />
on August 24.<br />
Andrew, who is married to Allison,<br />
was ordained as a deacon in September<br />
2012 and served his internship<br />
in St Anne’s before moving to<br />
Bangor Abbey as assistant curate.<br />
Andrew described his move to<br />
Skerry, Rathcavan and Newtowncrommelin<br />
as ‘a new and exciting<br />
phase’ in his ministry.<br />
Cathedral Digest 5
Palm Sunday.<br />
Palm Sunday.<br />
Maundy Thursday footwashing.<br />
Good Friday.<br />
Easter Eve. Lighting the Paschal Candle.<br />
6<br />
Cathedral Digest
Easter Eve.<br />
Easter and Holy Week began on Palm<br />
Sunday with a procession of palms.<br />
This year, evening services during Holy<br />
Week were held at 5.30pm Monday to<br />
Friday and at 8pm on Easter Eve. From<br />
Monday to Wednesday the service was<br />
that of Vespers, with a short reflection on<br />
‘The Incomparable God.’<br />
A three-hour service reflecting on<br />
Christ’s words from the Cross was held<br />
on Good Friday and that evening the<br />
service included some beautiful<br />
Passiontide music.<br />
At the Easter Vigil on Saturday the<br />
Paschal Candle was lit, bringing St<br />
Anne’s gradually back into light.<br />
Easter Eve.<br />
Holy Week and Easter 2016<br />
On Maundy Thursday the Sung<br />
Eucharist included foot-washing and<br />
the stripping of the altars.<br />
The preacher at the Easter Day service<br />
was the Bishop of Down and Dromore,<br />
the Right Rev Harold Miller<br />
Easter Day.<br />
Cathedral Digest 7
The Junior Girls’ Choir at Evensong on March 11.<br />
An important moment!<br />
On Friday March 11 the Cathedral’s<br />
Junior Girls’ Choir sang Evensong for the<br />
first time.<br />
They sang the opening plainsong responses,<br />
a form of ‘Magnificat’ and ‘Nunc<br />
Dimittis’ as well as an anthem and hymn.<br />
There was a good attendance of parents<br />
and friends. The Dean of Belfast, the<br />
Very Rev John Mann, said: “This was<br />
an important moment for the 20 young<br />
girls, all from the three Cathedral Choir<br />
Schools, and they responded well to the<br />
challenge.<br />
singing in three north Belfast primary<br />
schools, Sacred Heart, Edenbrook and<br />
Cliftonville Integrated.<br />
Senior Girls sing in<br />
Bach St John Passion<br />
The Senior Girls’ Choir performed in the<br />
Bach St John Passion at the Ulster Hall,<br />
with the Belfast Philharmonic and the Ulster<br />
Orchestra on Good Friday evening.<br />
“Thanks to Thérèse, who directed, and<br />
Anna and Aoife, who supported them<br />
and to Ian on the organ. It was a most<br />
encouraging service and we hope that<br />
we will hear more of them as the months<br />
pass and that some of the girls will find a<br />
place, after audition, in the Senior Girls’<br />
Choir (watch this space!).”<br />
The Choir School project teaches choral<br />
Members of the Girls’ Choir distributed beautiful<br />
daffodil posies to the congregation at services on<br />
Mothering Sunday.<br />
8<br />
Cathedral Digest
Canon Jim Sims and Canon Noble Hamilton at the Retired Clergy Association meeting.<br />
Retired clergy hear talk<br />
on Genesis and geology<br />
Members of the Retired Clergy Association<br />
held a Service of Holy Communion<br />
in the Chapel of Unity in St Anne’s on<br />
March 8.<br />
This was followed by a talk by the Rev<br />
Ron Elsdon entitled ‘Genesis and<br />
Geology’ which Ron said focused on<br />
‘how to read Genesis when we know the<br />
earth is very old, not very young.’<br />
or four times a year. Secretary, the Rev<br />
Canon Walter Laverty, said members<br />
would meet again for their annual lunch<br />
in May, which is also attended by clergy<br />
widows and wives.<br />
The Association will then hold its<br />
September meeting in Armagh, with a<br />
visit to St Patrick’s Cathedral and other<br />
historical sites in the Armagh area.<br />
Before the 11am Communion Service,<br />
the Association members enjoyed<br />
refreshments in the Cathedral Hall,<br />
which they returned to for the talk.<br />
The Association draws members from<br />
across Northern Ireland, and meets three<br />
And in November they will head to Bangor<br />
Abbey, established by Saint Comgall<br />
in 558, for the final meeting of 2016.<br />
The Association is chaired by the Rev<br />
John McKeagney.<br />
Cathedral Digest 9
Pictured with the two Merryweather Fire Engines are, from left: Martin Yore, Station Officer, Louth County Fire<br />
and Rescue Service; Suzanne Wylie, Chief Executive, Belfast City Council; Alderman Paul Bell, Mayor of Drogheda;<br />
the Dean, the Very Rev John Mann; Councillor Arder Carson, Lord Mayor of Belfast; Fionnualla Jay-O’Boyle, Her<br />
Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant for Belfast; Fr Michael Sheehan, Administrator, St Patrick’s; Councillor Maria Doyle, Chair<br />
of Dundalk District Council and Dale Ashford, Chief Officer, Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service.<br />
Belfast remembers dead<br />
At a moving service of Evensong in St<br />
Anne’s on April 17, Belfast city<br />
remembered those who died in the Blitz<br />
75 years ago.<br />
Hundreds attended the ecumenical<br />
service led by the Dean, the Very Rev<br />
John Mann, and the Administrator of St<br />
Patrick’s Church, Donegall Street, Fr<br />
Michael Sheehan, who preached.<br />
More than 900 people died and 1,500<br />
were injured on the night of Tuesday<br />
April 15 1941, when Luftwaffe<br />
bombers staged the biggest of four raids<br />
on Belfast city. Another 150 people were<br />
killed in a subsequent raid on the night of<br />
May 4-5 1941.<br />
One thousand candles burned during the<br />
service in St Anne’s, offering symbolic<br />
reflection for those who died, and<br />
candles were also carried in procession<br />
to the altar. Prayers were specially<br />
written for the occasion.<br />
along with people with memories and<br />
links to the Blitz and representatives of<br />
the emergency services whose predecessors<br />
risked their own lives to save<br />
lives in the city of Belfast 75 years ago.<br />
They included representatives of the Fire<br />
Service in Dublin, Drogheda and Dundalk,<br />
who sent engines to Belfast during<br />
the Blitz. Two Merryweather Fire Engines<br />
which attended in the wake of the bombings<br />
in 1941 made the journey back to<br />
Belfast and were parked outside.<br />
Remembering the night of April 15 in his<br />
sermon, Fr Sheehan recalled a ‘darkness<br />
which brought its own horror,<br />
suffering, heartbreak and pain; a<br />
darkness which brought degradation,<br />
torture and death; a darkness which<br />
threatened to engulf goodness, honour,<br />
life and love and which threatened the<br />
very foundation of our humanity; a darkness<br />
which in so many places across the<br />
continent destroyed innocence.’<br />
The service was attended by dignitaries<br />
including the City’s Lord Mayor and Her<br />
Majesty’s Lord Lieutenant for Belfast,<br />
Fr Sheehan added: “People emerge<br />
in every darkness who demonstrate<br />
through their actions your (God’s) good-<br />
10<br />
Cathedral Digest
1,000 candles, each representing a lost life, burn as the Blitz commemoration service gets underway.<br />
and wounded of the Blitz<br />
ness; people who come to ease and<br />
strengthen, support and defend the<br />
innocent, the wounded and the survivor.<br />
We give thanks for those lights which<br />
demonstrated courage, care, kindness<br />
and honour. The ambulance service, fire<br />
and rescue, wardens and defence units<br />
as well as ordinary good neighbours<br />
from across our divide.”<br />
Dean Mann said the indiscriminate<br />
bombing of the people of Belfast in 1941<br />
was commemorated with ‘an anguish<br />
that is still real.’<br />
“The image of St Anne’s amidst the<br />
smouldering ruins after a night of destruction<br />
from the air is more powerful<br />
than many words for me,” the Dean said.<br />
“The indiscriminate bombing of civilians<br />
in Belfast, or anywhere for that matter,<br />
is something we commemorate with an<br />
anguish that is still real these 75 years<br />
on. Our prayers reflect this.<br />
“We recall the fear, the death, the injury,<br />
the ruination, the many, to this day,<br />
whose lives were affected by those few<br />
nights that obliterated parts of our city.”<br />
The service concluded a weekend of<br />
events marking the 75th anniversary.<br />
John and Fiona Cromie chat with Canadian Elizabeth<br />
Dorothea Mawhinney whose family survived the Blitz<br />
by hiding in a cupboard in their Oldpark Avenue home.<br />
Order of Malta cadets take part in the candlelit<br />
procession.<br />
Cathedral Digest 11
Dr Marion Gibson receiving the Iris Colvin Lifetime<br />
Achievement Award from Donna Traynor, BBC. Looking<br />
on is Pat Irvine, Chairman of Women’s Forum.<br />
Belfast Cathedral parishioner and<br />
renowned trauma expert Dr Marion<br />
Gibson has been presented with the Iris<br />
Colvin Lifetime Achievement Award by<br />
the Northern Ireland Women’s Forum.<br />
Mrs Roberta McKelvey, wife of the<br />
former Dean of Belfast, the Very Rev<br />
Houston McKelvey, was jointly awarded<br />
the Community and Voluntary Award by<br />
the same body, having been nominated<br />
by Connor Diocese Mothers’ Union.<br />
The Awards were among a number<br />
presented by Donna Traynor of the BBC<br />
at the Women’s Forum Friendship Lunch<br />
held on April 10 in Newforge Country<br />
Club.<br />
Marion is a Mother’s Union member of<br />
the Belfast Cathedral branch.<br />
Iris Colvin, a former Chair (1988-1991)<br />
and Honorary Life Member of Women’s<br />
Forum Northern Ireland, was a much<br />
loved, highly respected and matriarchal<br />
figure in business, professional and<br />
12<br />
Cathedral Digest<br />
Donna Traynor, BBC, presents the Community and<br />
Voluntary Award to Connor MU nominee Roberta<br />
McKelvey. Included is Pat Irvine, Women’s Forum.<br />
Prestigious awards for<br />
Marion and Roberta<br />
women’s organisations and the voluntary<br />
sector in Northern Ireland.<br />
Marion said she was honoured to receive<br />
the award, especially as she had known<br />
the late Iris Colvin for many years,<br />
having met her at a Flower Festival in St<br />
Anne’s. Marion was nominated by the<br />
President of Queen’s Women’s<br />
Graduates.<br />
“It was a real honour,” said Marion. “They<br />
read a lovely acclamation although I was<br />
too dazed to take it all in, but I said a few<br />
words about my contact with Iris. I was<br />
really overwhelmed.”<br />
Marion was also recently named for a<br />
prestigious Points of Light Award by the<br />
Prime Minister.<br />
Roberta McKelvey has held many posts<br />
within Mothers’ Union and was a Trustee<br />
for World Wide Mothers Union for 12<br />
years, six as a representative of<br />
members in Anglican Provinces around<br />
the World.
Well done David & Tania<br />
Master of the Choristers Mr David<br />
Stevens has been named in the 2016<br />
Royal Academy of Music Honours list.<br />
And Tania Murphy, a member of the<br />
Cathedral Girls’ Choir, was selected to<br />
represent St Anne’s at a concert in St<br />
Paul’s Cathedral, London.<br />
David, who has been at St Anne’s since<br />
2012, has been made an Associate of<br />
the Royal Academy of Music. This<br />
honour is awarded to former students<br />
who have made a significant contribution<br />
to the music profession.<br />
David was formerly Director of the Girls’<br />
Choir and Sub–Organist at Newcastle<br />
Cathedral, and Director of Campus<br />
Music at Northumbria University.<br />
He is a prize–winning graduate of the<br />
Royal Academy of Music in London, from<br />
where he obtained an MA in Choral Conducting,<br />
with distinction, in 2009. Prior to<br />
that, David read Music and was Organ<br />
Scholar at Oriel College, Oxford.<br />
Before moving to London, David spent a<br />
year as Organ Scholar and acting Sub–<br />
David Stevens, Master of the Choristers.<br />
Organist of Guildford Cathedral, where<br />
he played the organ for services and<br />
assisted with the training and conducting<br />
of the cathedral choirs.<br />
David has among other things been<br />
instrumental in the development of new<br />
choirs in St Anne’s, including the Girls’<br />
Choir and the Boys’ Choir, and in the<br />
introduction of Choral Evensong six days<br />
a week in term time.<br />
Chorister Tania is in Year 12 at Aquinas<br />
Diocesan Grammar School.<br />
The St Paul’s concert brought<br />
choristers representing 60 cathedrals<br />
across the country together with the<br />
choir of St Paul’s to perform some of<br />
Britain’s most-loved choral music.<br />
Girls’ Choir member Tania Murphy.<br />
Classic FM’s Aled Jones, a former chorister<br />
at Bangor Cathedral and Alexander<br />
Armstrong, previously a chorister at<br />
Durham Cathedral, presented the<br />
concert in the presence of HRH The<br />
Duchess of Gloucester on April 27.<br />
Cathedral Digest 13
Heritage<br />
Symbolism III - Snakes,<br />
the Tetramorph<br />
Snakes are featured on the spurs of the<br />
plinth of the respond of Wisdom. There is<br />
an ambiguity about this creature. It had a<br />
role in the religions of the Ancient World<br />
as a symbol of evil power and the bringer<br />
of chaos, as well as being a symbol<br />
of fertility, life and healing. The staff of<br />
Aesculapius, the Greek god of medicine,<br />
has a snake wound round it. (See the<br />
Royal Army Medical Corps window in<br />
the ambulatory, pictured right).) When<br />
shown eating its tail the snake becomes<br />
a symbol of the ‘perpetual cyclic renewal<br />
of life’.<br />
By Norman<br />
Weatherall<br />
This ambiguity, good and evil, is found<br />
in the presentation of the creature in the<br />
Bible. From Genesis 3 we learn that “the<br />
serpent was more crafty than any other<br />
beast of the field that the Lord God had<br />
made”, and we are given a demonstration<br />
of that talent when it meets Eve.<br />
Punishment followed: “cursed are you<br />
above all cattle... upon your belly you<br />
shall go, and dust you shall eat all the<br />
days of your life…”<br />
While the serpent in the Bible is linked to<br />
destructive agents -- wine is said to “bite<br />
like a serpent” and sting “like a viper”,<br />
(Proverbs 23: 32); the wicked man’s<br />
“food is turned in his stomach; it is the<br />
gall of asps within him” (Job 20: 14); Jesus<br />
dismisses the Pharisees as a “Brood<br />
of vipers” -- it is also linked with healing.<br />
When the Israelites were punished with a<br />
plague of snakes Moses was instructed<br />
to “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a<br />
pole and everyone who is bitten, when<br />
he sees it, shall live.” Jesus picks this up,<br />
John 3:14, “And as Moses lifted up the<br />
serpent in the wilderness, so must the<br />
Son of man be lifted up, that whoever<br />
believes in him may have eternal life .”<br />
The two incidents are linked on the West<br />
Front of the Cathedral: a window above<br />
the Crucifixion tympanum, north door,<br />
depicts Moses holding a rod adorned<br />
with a serpent.<br />
In Isaiah’s vision of “the Future Hope of<br />
Israel”, the kingdom of God on Earth, the<br />
new era of justice and peace will extend<br />
even to the animals: the snake, agent<br />
of death, will be de-fanged and “The<br />
nursing child will play by the hole of the<br />
cobra, And the weaned child will put his<br />
hand on the viper’s den.” (chapter11).<br />
A positive slant on the snake’s subtlety<br />
14<br />
Cathedral Digest
is given by Our Lord in his instruction to<br />
the disciples: “Behold I am sending you<br />
out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so<br />
be wise as serpents and innocent as<br />
doves.” Furthermore, the power of the<br />
serpent is not limitless: Jesus tells the<br />
men “Behold I have given you authority<br />
to tread on serpents and scorpions…<br />
and nothing shall hurt you.” (Luke 10)<br />
The tympanum above the Great West<br />
Door of the Cathedral depicts a defeated<br />
serpent-Devil-Satan prostrate beneath<br />
the feet of the enthroned, victorious<br />
Christ. “Then I saw an angel coming<br />
down from heaven, holding in his hand<br />
the key of the bottomless pit and a great<br />
chain. And he seized the dragon, who<br />
is the Devil and Satan, and bound him<br />
for a thousand years, and threw him into<br />
the pit, and shut it and sealed it over<br />
him, that he could deceive the nations no<br />
more….” (Rev.20:2)<br />
On the lectern, below the eagle, is the<br />
Tetramorph: Greek--“four forms”, based<br />
on figures described in Ezekiel and in<br />
Revelation. “And round the throne, on<br />
each side of the throne, are four living<br />
creatures, full of eyes in front and<br />
behind: the first living creature like a lion,<br />
the second living creature like an ox, the<br />
third living creature like a man, and the<br />
fourth living creature like a flying eagle.”<br />
(Rev. 4: 6-8) These creatures were<br />
adapted by the Early Church as symbols<br />
for the Evangelists. The man is Matthew<br />
because his Gospel emphasises the<br />
human side of Christ. Mark represents<br />
the Saviour’s power and royalty: a lion<br />
for him. Luke concentrates on Christ’s<br />
priesthood, hence the ox or calf, a sacrificial<br />
victim. St John, the Evangelist, represented<br />
by an eagle, is described by St<br />
Augustine as gazing “on the light of the<br />
immutable truth with keen and undazzled<br />
eyes” like the eagle looking at the sun.<br />
Daily guided<br />
tours now<br />
available!<br />
Running until the end of September,<br />
St Anne’s is offering guided tours<br />
every day except Sunday at 11am<br />
and 2pm.<br />
Our guides will highlight some of the<br />
key features of this historic building,<br />
including the pillars which represent<br />
life and work in the city and<br />
province, the beautiful stained glass<br />
windows, the labyrinth depicting<br />
the journey of life, the Baptistry, and<br />
Lord Carson’s tomb.<br />
Visitors will discover why St Anne’s<br />
has two Bishops’ Seats, and see the<br />
State Seats, which are sometimes<br />
occupied by Royalty!<br />
A guided tour is £4 per adult and<br />
places do not have to be booked in<br />
advance.<br />
Regular admission prices are:<br />
• Adults £5 (including guide book);<br />
£6 (including audio guide)<br />
• Children aged 16 and under – free<br />
entry for up to three children when<br />
accompanied by a full paying adult<br />
• Students (on production of Student<br />
ID) £3 (including guide book); £4<br />
(including audio guide)<br />
• Pensioners £3 (including guide<br />
book) £4 (including audio tour)<br />
• Group rate for groups of 10 or more<br />
- £4 (including guide book)<br />
• Guided tour (daily 11am and 2pm<br />
EXCEPT SUNDAY) £4 per adult.<br />
Cathedral Digest 15
May<br />
1st<br />
8th<br />
15th<br />
22nd<br />
29th<br />
June<br />
5th<br />
12th<br />
19th<br />
26th<br />
Eucharist Assistants<br />
Barbara Callender and Jean Cunning<br />
Marion Gibson and Patricia McKinley<br />
Alan Martin and Barbara Callender<br />
Jean Cunning and Doris Hempton<br />
Phyllis Forster and Terry Pateman<br />
Barbara Callender and Marion Gibson<br />
Jean Cunning and Phyllis Forster<br />
Alan Martin and Doris Hempton<br />
Patricia McKinley and Terry Pateman<br />
Cathedral flowers<br />
Anyone wishing to add their name to the Cathedral Flower Rota should<br />
contact Margaret Massey on 028 9084 8051.<br />
The flowers on May 29 will be donated by Stanley & Noreen McIlroy (in<br />
memory of parents) and on June 5 by David & Helen Alexander (in memory<br />
of parents).<br />
May<br />
1st<br />
8th<br />
15th<br />
22nd<br />
29th<br />
Patricia McKinley<br />
Helen Mann<br />
Phyllis Watson<br />
Mildred Irvine<br />
Gillian McCaughey<br />
Sunday Coffee<br />
June<br />
5th<br />
12th<br />
19th<br />
26th<br />
Gail Barr<br />
Fiona Hawkins<br />
Gwen Preece<br />
Helen Alexander<br />
16<br />
‘GOD IS LOVE, AND THOSE WHO LIVE IN LOVE<br />
LIVE IN GOD, AND GOD LIVES IN THEM’<br />
April 4 - Adam James Fox and Phoebe Leanne Greer<br />
‘AND HE TOOK THEM IN HIS ARMS<br />
AND BLESSED THEM’<br />
27 March - Mark Shamil Clelland<br />
Cathedral Digest
A St Patrick’s Day Breakfast followed a<br />
service of Sung Eucharist in St Anne’s<br />
Cathedral on March 17. The service<br />
had an Irish slant, with the words of St<br />
Patrick’s Confession read in place of a<br />
sermon, a practice the Dean has<br />
followed for some years.<br />
Great sadness was occasioned by the<br />
death of Ruth, daughter of Canon Denise<br />
Acheson, on April 18.<br />
Canon Denise had been on extended<br />
leave since last October, but due to<br />
Ruth’s illness she was unable to return<br />
as planned and resigned her position as<br />
Dean’s Vicar. She will remain nominally<br />
on the staff of St Anne’s with the<br />
Bishop’s licence, but without duties, until<br />
she is able to take up a new position.<br />
Following the news of Ruth’s untimely<br />
death, Dean John Mann said: “Our<br />
hearts go out to the whole family, and the<br />
prayers of us all in St Anne’s will be with<br />
them at this sorrowful time. May the Father<br />
in His mercy grant comfort, and may<br />
His presence bring the reassurance of<br />
Enjoying breakfast following the St Patrick’s Day Eucharist.<br />
St Patrick’s Day Eucharist and Breakfast<br />
The Dean said: “His testimony is<br />
inspirational and sets just the right tone<br />
on a day that can become somewhat<br />
less than its Christian origins.”<br />
The choir sang an anthem in praise of St<br />
Patrick in Irish during the service.<br />
Canon Denise Acheson<br />
the hope that is ours in the Risen Christ<br />
and the eternity of life and love in Him.”<br />
Dean Mann said Canon Denise had<br />
made a very important contribution to the<br />
life of the Cathedral over the course of<br />
more than two years. “Her steady presence<br />
and total commitment have been<br />
exemplary, and many have benefited<br />
from her ministry, not least in her support<br />
and encouragement of the other clergy.”<br />
Canon installed<br />
At Evensong on Palm Sunday<br />
the Rev Canon Mark Taylor was<br />
installed in the Cathedral Chapter,<br />
representing Connor Diocese.<br />
Mark is rector of the United Parish<br />
of Whitehead and Islandmagee.<br />
Cathedral Digest 17
Who’s Who in St Anne’s<br />
The Dean<br />
The Very Revd John Mann<br />
9032 8332 (Office)<br />
9066 0980 (Home)<br />
dean@belfastcathedral.org<br />
Dean’s Vicar<br />
The Revd Mark Niblock<br />
(from Sunday May 8)<br />
9032 8332<br />
Assistant Clergy<br />
The Revd Campbell Dixon<br />
9032 8332 ext 223<br />
07879 427980<br />
Administrative Staff<br />
Bursar<br />
Marie Devlin<br />
9032 8332 ext 221<br />
bursar@belfastcathedral.org<br />
Administrative Assistant<br />
9032 8332 ext 222<br />
Parish Readers<br />
William Blair<br />
Denise Murray<br />
Head Verger<br />
David Alexander<br />
The Revd Janice Elsdon<br />
9032 8332 ext 224<br />
07977 058669<br />
janice@belfastcathedral.org<br />
Other Clergy<br />
The Rt Revd Alan Harper<br />
The Revd Clyde Irvine<br />
The Revd Paul Twomey<br />
Master of the Choristers<br />
David Stevens<br />
9032 8332 ext 225<br />
07545 157613<br />
david@belfastcathedral.org<br />
Press Officer and Digest Editor<br />
Karen Bushby<br />
9032 8332<br />
karen@belfastcathedral.org<br />
Organist<br />
Ian Barber<br />
9032 8332 ext 226<br />
07753 248409<br />
ian@belfastcathedral.org<br />
Vergers<br />
Ronnie Lawrenson<br />
Cameron McGaughey<br />
Danielle Barr<br />
Cathedral Sextons<br />
Agnes Laffey<br />
Mark Geddis<br />
Alastair Sweetnam<br />
Gerald Kennedy<br />
Stewards’ Coordinators<br />
The Revd Janice Elsdon<br />
Vernon Clegg<br />
Children’s Ministry<br />
Vacant<br />
Mothers’ Union<br />
Alberta Miskimmin,<br />
Hon Sec<br />
9079 8033<br />
Flower List & Coffee Rota<br />
Margaret Massey<br />
9084 8051<br />
18<br />
Cathedral Digest
Who’s Who in St Anne’s<br />
Friends of the Cathedral<br />
Joan Thompson,<br />
Hon Treasurer / Members Sec<br />
9332 9102<br />
Past Choristers’ Association<br />
Co-ordinator: Peter Hunter<br />
9042 2048<br />
pdhunter@hotmail.co.uk<br />
Archivists<br />
Norman Weatherall<br />
Jean Barber<br />
Vernon Clegg<br />
Principal Cathedral Guide<br />
Norman Weatherall<br />
The Revd Michael Parker (2015)<br />
Chapter Canons:<br />
The Revd JC Munyangaju (2012)<br />
The Revd Bro DJ Jardine (2007)<br />
Minor Canons:<br />
The Revd SA Fielding (2002)<br />
The Revd NDJ Kirkpatrick (2014)<br />
The Revd ATW Dorrian (2014)<br />
The Revd J Bell (2015)<br />
The Revd R Smyth (2015)<br />
The Revd S Richardson (2015)<br />
Ecumenical Canons:<br />
The Revd Dr R Patterson (2012)<br />
The Revd Ruth E Patterson (2014)<br />
Librarian<br />
Vacant<br />
The Cathedral Chapter<br />
The Dean: The Very Revd J O Mann<br />
(2011)<br />
Treasurer & Chapter Clerk: The Revd<br />
Denise Acheson (2013)<br />
Chancellor: The Venerable DA McClay<br />
(2013)<br />
Precentor: The Venerable GTW<br />
Davison (2013)<br />
Canons of Connor:<br />
The Revd NP Baylor (2012)<br />
The Revd N R Cutcliffe (2007)<br />
The Revd RW Jones (2013)<br />
The Revd Mark Taylor (2016)<br />
Canons of Down and Dromore<br />
The Revd N Jardine (2002)<br />
The Revd R Nesbitt (2003)<br />
The Revd WD Humphries (2013)<br />
The Revd SH Lowry (2013)<br />
The Cathedral Board<br />
The Bishop of Connor (Chairman)<br />
The Bishop of Down & Dromore<br />
The Dean<br />
The Dean’s Vicar<br />
The Archdeacons of Belfast and Down<br />
The Rev C Dixon<br />
The Rev J Elsdon<br />
The Rev Canon N Baylor<br />
The Rev Canon Stephen Lowry<br />
Mrs G McGaughey (Hon Sec)<br />
Dr V KcKinley<br />
Mr J Watson<br />
Mr M Hempton<br />
Dr M Callender<br />
Mr R Totten<br />
Mr D Alexander<br />
Mr MC Davey<br />
Mr R Moore<br />
Mr B Fletcher<br />
Mr A Reilly<br />
Cathedral Digest 19
THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST ANNE<br />
Sunday Services<br />
8.00am & 10.00am<br />
11am<br />
3.30pm<br />
The Eucharist<br />
Sung Eucharist<br />
Choral Evensong<br />
Daily services<br />
Monday to Saturday<br />
8.10am<br />
8.30am<br />
1.00pm<br />
5.30pm<br />
Morning Prayer<br />
The Eucharist<br />
Prayers (Eucharist on Wednesdays and<br />
Saints’ Days and other Holy Days)<br />
Evening Prayer (Choral on weekdays)<br />
Special Services and Events<br />
Saturday May 7 @ 7pm Belfast Philharmonic, Phil Kids and Phil<br />
Youth Choirs 10th anniversary concert<br />
Sunday May 8 @ 3.30pm SSAFA 130th anniversary service<br />
Wednesday May 11 @ 1pm Concert by the Thiel Choir, Pennsylvania<br />
Saturday May 21 @ 2pm RSCM - A Sequence for Ascension - a<br />
festival service for Pentecost<br />
Sunday May 22 @ 3.30pm Cathedral Choir Schools concert<br />
Sunday June 5 @ 3.30pm Saying Goodbye Service<br />
Wednesday June 8 @ 5.30pm A celebration service for 90th Birthday of<br />
Her Majesty the Queen<br />
St Dominic’s Grammar School held its annual Spring Concert in St Anne’s on Thursday April 14.<br />
For further information visit www.belfastcathedral.org<br />
2<br />
Cathedral Digest